Little Things
by Maya Koppori
Summary: It's been years since Jamie Bennet and his friends thought about magic and fairies. But why? How could they forget such an amazing and beautiful truth about their world? And how could the last light forget the one who made him believe? Darker forces are at work, and it's up to Jamie to step up, or the Guardians could lose their power... Forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Surprise! This little buddy might actually have a plot! It's a little murky, though, so I might have to reconsider. I'll see how the response is ;) Anyway, this is the product of tumblr giving my a zillion platonic feels for Jamie and Jack. I don't own Rise of the Guardians. Which is good for you guys, trust me. **

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They were little things. Things that could have an explanation if you stretched the laws of nature far enough. Sled rides that went out of control but ended with no harm. Finding a chore already done. Snowball fights that seemed to start themselves, and wind that had a mind of its own whenever they were carrying important papers. Most people would have shaken their heads and laughed it off, or blamed forgetfulness and superstition.

But Jamie Bennet knew for a fact that the blue knitted scarf jammed under his windowsill had been lost in the wind three days prior. And he had no explanation for it.

"Mom," he yelled. "Found my scarf!"

"That's great, honey," she called back. "Now get going! Sophie's already heading out the door."

Jamie cursed lightly under his breath, scrambling around his room to gather what he needed for school. Trigonometry homework? Check. Lunch money? Check. Ungodly stack of textbooks? Double check.

Finally, Jamie turned back to the window and opened it, tugging his scarf free. A blast of cold air invaded his room, and he shuddered as a single pure white snowflake landed on the bridge of his nose.

He blinked, and for a split second, a strange feeling came over him. It was safety and well being, fellowship and protection. And even more fleetingly was a vision outside his bedroom window. A face full of concern and fun, an impish smile ghosting around the corners of its lips. It was so familiar...

But then the snow had melted, and the feeling was gone. Jamie shrugged. Another mystery he would never solve, he guessed. He took the stairs two at a time, grabbed a hot bagel off the table, kissed his mother's cheek, and bolted after his sister. "Soph! Hold up!"

Sophie sighed, pocketing her cell phone, and turned to wait for Jamie with a great roll of her eyes. "Well, look who finally decided to wake up."

Jamie tied off his scarf and tightened it snugly to cover the exposed hollow of his throat. "Hey, just because I don't get up at dawn like some people to spend an hour on my hair-"

"Shut it, Jamie."

"-so I can impress Kyle-"

"James Bennet, I swear to God."

"And stare into his dreamy eyes all during English-"

_Splat!_ Jamie sputtered and gasped, wiping the frozen snow from his face. Sophie dusted off her hands, a smug grin breaking through. "I warned you," she reminded him. "That's what you get."

"Oh, no," Jamie grinned. "You did not just start a snow fight with _the master._" He gathered up a mound of snow big enough to top a snowman. "That precious flat iron of yours is going to have fun working this out!"

Sophie squealed and ran for the bus stop. "No!" By the time Jamie caught up with her, he had mercifully dropped the snow, and settled for tackling her in a hug before boarding the bus with the other kids waiting.

As he settled into a window seat, Jamie found himself studying the intricate patterns of frost on the glass. There was that feeling again. The snowflake feeling that he'd experienced every winter since he could remember. What was it?

"You wanna go sledding later?" He asked suddenly. "Just you and me."

Sophie was still laughing, but managed to give him a thumbs up before her friends ushered her to their usual bench near the back.

Jamie heard them giggling on the way back, probably about his out-of-nowhere request. Honestly, what kind of seventeen year old asked his little sister to go sledding with him? But as Jamie stared through the glaze of ice, he thought that whatever face he kept seeing was happy with him.

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**Well, I do wonder what will happen on this sledding trip. What's that? It doesn't seem like Jamie remembers Jack?! Why, that's simply horrible! Something must be done to correct this travesty. In part two, dear reader. In part two. **

**Signed,**

**Moony/Maya Koppori**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, what an awesome response! I guess this is continuing after all! But the plot is still insanely in the developing stages, so I'd love it if I could have some suggestions! Man, this is a lot of exclamation points! Seriously though, guys. I love the follows and faves, but it's the reviews that I live my life for. Help a girl out with some encouragement? :3 I still don't own, you lucky dogs. Enjoy!**

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There were bigger things, too. Things that people questioned, but never found an answer for. Jamie tried asking his closest friends, and even Sophie, about any weird feelings they might get when they went out in the snow. The feelings of safety, and the assurance that none of the wintertime terrors that their parents feared would come to light.

But they laughed, as they always did, and told him to get his head out of the clouds and to come on and help them with the snow fort already. While completely ignoring the fact that there hadn't been any snow to build a fort with an hour ago, and none of them had seen one flake of the three- inch blanket falling from the sky.

At least for a while, Sophie had felt the same way he did. But then she discovered makeup and boys, and stopped trying to explain the extra Easter eggs she always got and the snow that fell heavier on their house than any other.

And most of the time, the things were pretty useful. There were plenty of unscheduled snow days, and Jamie could proudly say that he hasn't had a nightmare since he was very young. Once, he had even gotten lost in the woods while camping with his friends, and they had all woken up the next morning on Claude's couch with no memory of how they had gotten there.

But Jamie would have traded all of those things back if whatever mysterious force was out there would help him out this one time and never again.

"Sophie," he hissed. "Don't. Move."

"Jamie." Sophie gulped back her tears. "Jamie, what do I do?" She stared into a pair of large, dark eyes. The bear should have been hibernating; what on Earth was it doing sniffing at a sled barely two feet from his sister?!

"Don't move," Jamie repeated slowly. "I'm going to draw it off, and then I need you to run."

"But Jamie-!"

"Do you understand?"

Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Sophie turned her head and nodded. The movement intrigued the bear. It abandoned the sled and lumbered a step closer, and its warm breath blew Sophie's hair backwards. Even in profile, Jamie could see the tears sparkling on his sister's cheeks.

Jamie crouched down, not taking his eyes off of the bear or his sister, and scooped up a handful of fresh snow. Packing it in tightly, he pulled back and readied to launch it at the creature's furry hide. He could do this. He was Jamie Bennet. He couldn't throw a baseball to save his life, but put a snowball in his hand and he never missed. Not with so much at stake.

"On three," Jamie murmured. "One." He tensed, clenching his fist loosely. "Two." A cold breeze stirred his hair, pushing lightly at his back. In that moment, he heard it. A voice, as familiar as the face he sometimes saw on snowy days. The words were incoherent- as soft and hissing as falling snow- but the tone was clear. It was backing him, standing by him. Jamie took in a deep breath of the pine scented air, and heard the voice by his ear, speaking with him.

"Three."

The wind surged forward, driving a blizzard in front of it in a wave of blinding white. Sophie screamed and covered her head, but the storm coursed around her and blasted into the bear. It took the attack to the snout, and the force was enough to smack it it against the tree line. Throwing its head back, the confused animal yowled angrily and ambled back through the forest.

Sophie and Jamie blinked wordlessly at each other, totally untouched by the whirlwind. It was Sophie who moved first, grabbing first her sled and then Jamie, latching onto the sleeve of his jacket.

"What just happened?" she gasped. "How did that happen?"

"I-" Jamie was about to reply that he had no idea, but something stopped him in his tracks. There was still snow falling from the small cyclone, a light dusting of powder. The tiny flakes dropped into his outstretched hand, and the feeling came back stronger than ever.

"Sophie, do you remember the stories I used to tell you? When we were little?"

"Jamie, this is dumb, I want to go-"

"No, Sophie, listen." Jamie shook her off of his arm and clutched at her shoulders. "What was his name? What was the name of the... The cold guy?"

A gust of air smacked him in the chest.

"Old man Winter?" Sophie suggested. "Like in the song?"

The wind swirled in frustration.

"Okaaaay," Sophie said, awed into submission. "I guess not. And I'm betting it's not Frosty the snowman?"

"No!" Jamie's cry was punctuated by the rattling of branches being shaken violently. "It's there, I know it is..."

"Say it," the voice was begging. "Please, Jamie. Say my name."

"Who's there?" He asked aloud, turning in a slow circle.

Sophie looked at him, wide eyed. "What? What did you see?"

"Not see..." Jamie squinted into the fading light, and there he was. A silvery silhouette, but there all the same.

He smiled, relief spreading across his impish features as they made eye contact. He stepped closer into the light. "Jamie."

Jamie shook his head in wonder, memory reclaiming him in a rush. There he was, just as he had looked all those years ago. "Jack Frost."

"Yeah that was it!" Sophie nodded. "Now why was that so important?"

"Soph, don't you see, he's right-!" A cold hand clamped down on his mouth before releasing quickly. Jack stepped away, putting a finger to his lips.

"You know what? Never mind," Jamie corrected, confused. "Come on, let's get you home." Putting an arm around his sister, Jamie started the long trek home.

The sounds that normally followed him in the snowy woods were accompanied by an extra set of bare feet crunching their way across the frozen ground. And as much as it confused him, Jamie could see Sophie forgetting about what the wind had done, and knew that Sophie couldn't hear those feet now, any more than either of them could have a week ago, or a year, or even...

A question circled in Jamie's mind as Sophie chattered away nervously about their encounter with the bear. As he stole glances at the guardian walking silently by his side, it grew stronger and stronger.

How-and when-had he forgotten to keep believing?

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**So... What now? You guys have no idea how impressionable I am as a writer, so if you suggest something, there's a pretty good chance of me fitting it in somewhere! Read, read, and please review! Until next time. **

**Signed,**

**Moony/Maya Koppori**


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the delay. Out of country. Sketchy wifi. Thanks. Bai.

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He was late. Jamie paced back and forth restlessly in front of his bedroom window. What could he be up to? He knew that Jack goofed off a lot, but this was serious. Jamie had been patient, accepting Jack's promise to return later that evening instead of talking then and there. He had told the bear story a dozen times to his mom, helped her alert the local forest rangers so they could caution anyone else from heading into the woods, and talked Sophie down from hysteria to mild paranoia. But it had been three hours, and everyone was asleep now. So where was Jack?

Jamie sighed and stopped his pacing, eventually throwing himself crossways onto his bed. He was being stupid. Jack Frost, the embodiment of winter? How embarrassing. He was imagining things again, wasn't he? Jamie shook his head, wondering how he had ever believed-

In sleighbells ringing in the night sky.

In colorful, feathered fairies that protected memories.

In the beautiful golden sand that delivered dreams.

In the might and determination of a warrior rabbit.

In the boy who's only hope was to be believed in.

Jamie grunted, kneading his eyelids with the heels of his hands. What was he thinking? Of course they were real. Panic set in. How could his belief be shaken so easily? What was happening to him?

"Jack, where are you?" Jamie whimpered into the darkness. "Why can't I believe?"

"Hey, don't worry, kiddo. Just saying my name is enough for me."

Jamie yelped and tumbled off of his bed, scrambling to lock eyes with the intruder in his house.

Jack was hanging upside down outside his window, waving lightly. "Knock knock?"

"Jack!" Jamie sprinted to the window and threw it open. "You said you'd be here an hour ago! Where were you?!"

"Whoa, whoa," Jack laughed. He breezed into the room, bringing a chill with him and leaving a silvery trace of frost behind. "Sorry, I got a little caught up on the way. There was this huge sled party down the road, and they needed a little extra-" Jack suddenly noticed something and cut off. "Jamie... What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying," Jamie sniffed. "Just... Close the window or something. It's cold." He trudged back to the bed and sat against the headboard, drawing his knees up to his chin.

Jack shook his head but closed the window. "Jamie, I've known you your whole life. I can tell when you're lying. What got you so scared?" He somersaulted over to Jamie's bed and joined him, deftly crossing his legs and balancing his staff on them.

Although the instinct to deny his fear was overwhelming, Jamie realized that Jack was right; he would see through any pretense he put forward. "Just before you got here, there was this moment..." He laid his face on his knees and looked at Jack sideways. "I forgot about you," he muttered. "About all of you."

Jack stared at him, mouth hanging open in shock.

"It was only for a minute," Jamie continued softly. "But I was thinking how ridiculous it was to be staying up waiting for someone who didn't exist; my imaginary friend from when I was little." He clenched his eyelids right around more threatening tears. "An hour ago, I knew you were real. And then all of a sudden, I couldn't tell. I didn't know what to believe any more. What if I hadn't snapped out of it by the time you got here?" The tears spilled over. "What if I had never seen you again?"

"Hey, hold on a second," Jack ordered. "It's fine, Jamie. I'm here. You can hear me, right?"

"I guess."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"

"Okay, fine. Yes, I hear you."

"And you can see me?"

Jamie pried his eyes open. Stark white hair, blue eyes, and a permafrosted hoodie. His eyelids drifted shut again. "Yeah. I can see you."

He heard a chuckle, and a cold arm wrapped around his shoulder. "Yes, I can feel you, too," he said before Jack could ask. "And as for smell, how long have you been in those woods? You smell like pine."

"Three hundred years, give or take. Now-"

"I'm not going to see if I can taste you, if that's what you're thinking."

There was silence, probably Jack thinking up an alternative to that particular question. "Hmm. Well... Why don't you just say it again."

Jamie finally uncurled himself, looking at Jack curiously. "Say what?" he asked.

"My name," Jack replied simply. "It's... It's been a while since I heard it."

"As in a few hours ago?"

"Jaaaaaamie." Jack pouted, something Jamie hadn't known he even did. Either he was just goofing around again, or he just really wanted to hear it.

"Fine," Jamie muttered. Raising his voice only slightly, he looked at the guardian and said, "Jack Frost."

Their eyes held contact for a minute or so, Jack's searching his face- for what, Jamie didn't know. But he was suddenly brought back to that night all those winters ago in this very room, when they had both been at their very lowest points. When he was sitting there, talking so seriously to that old stuffed rabbit that he still kept in his old toy chest. When he had felt all of the joy and hope and wonder of his young life drain out of him, because

everyone had been right and he had been fooled.

And then entered the magic- an invisible finger had drawn an egg on his window- an Easter egg, of all things! And then the frost bunny had appeared, actually coming into his room!

Jamie remembered it all now with crystal clarity. The bunny had burst into a shower of snow, and a single flake had fallen on his nose, leaving a cool sting. And he had the idea that, just maybe, Jack Frost wasn't nobody. He wasn't just an expression. And then he had turned around, and there he was.

He had been surprised to find another person on his room, of course. But what was more confusing was the older boy's reaction to being seen. His face had lit up, pale and bright as the moon, as he asked those questions again and again. "Can you hear me? Can you see me?" And when he had spoken his name out loud for the first time... Jamie had never seen a more joyous expression in his life. It was like a blind man seeing for the first time.

"Then I guess I'm real," Jack whispered. "You believed in me, Jamie. Even after so long... And with everything else, too..."

Jamie blinked, breaking the past's grip on him. "Wha-? Everything else? Jack, what are you talking about? Am I not supposed to remember? I thought that was just part of growing up."

"Okay, I know, you deserve an explanation. You see, when you and your friends helped us defeat Pitch-" Jack's head snapped up suddenly, and he leaped off the bed, landing in a defensive stance between Jamie and the door. "It's here. Jamie, you need to get out, now!"

Jamie glanced at the door, confused. "Jack," he said warningly. "What's going on?"

"There's no time. We need to go!" Jack backed away from the door slowly, edging toward the window. "Get behind me and get ready."

Jamie growled in frustration. "Jack, there's nothing there!"

When Jack turned back to him, panic plain in his incredulous stare, Jamie knew for sure that something was up. "Jamie..."

The door was suddenly blown open from the outside, and the room was shrouded in darkness.

Jamie screamed. The darkness suffocated him, diving into his ears, his mouth, his nose; it was a palpable presence, as malicious as it was thick and heavy. Jamie choked under its weight, falling to his knees. He tried to call out for Jack, but his voice couldn't penetrate the darkness. He was paralyzed by something he had felt in doses over the years, but had never come close to experiencing in its elemental form.

Fear.

"Jamie!" The call came through the void, sounding both close and a hundred miles away. Jamie squinted, and could make out the outline of Jack's staff. It was glowing a bright blue, just like it had in the battle with Pitch. He stretched out his hand as far as he could, crawling on his knees. If he could only reach it...

His fingers closed around the end of the crook, clenching tightly. With a final effort, Jamie screamed, "Help!" and tugged desperately.

He was drawn up out of the darkness, bursting through the surface in a frantic gasp of air. Jack grabbed him around the waist and half carried him over to the window. Jamie was breathing heavily, but managed to catch a glimpse over his shoulder- at what looked like empty air.

"Jack-"

"It's not gone, don't stop," Jack panted. He threw open the window. "Wind! Get us out of here!" He hopped up onto the windowsill, tensed and waiting for the right moment. "Take my hand, Jamie. And don't let go."

"But what about mom and Sophie?!"

"It won't hurt them- it's after you! Now take my hand!"

Jamie did as he was told, and a feeling of weightlessness overtook his body. He looked up at Jack, at that moment outlined against the biggest full moon he'd ever seen. "Okay, now what?"

The guardian smirked down at him, the confident smile welcome in the wake of that awful darkness. "Now, we're going to have a little fun." Their hair and clothes flapped in a sudden wind, and the next thing he knew, Jamie was being whisked off into the starry sky.

WOW IS PLOT A THING? I HOPE SO. SERIOUSLY I HAVE TO GO GUYS I'LL TRY TO BE BETTER PROMISE. R&R.

MOONY/MAYA KOPPORI


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